JP2001225511A - Handy printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a compact handy printer of simple structure in which a sensor for controlling the recording position is incorporated in the printer body. SOLUTION: The handy printer for recording an image through a recording head 6 by moving a printer body 1 on a recording sheet P contains a windable optical linear encoder 2 in the printer body 1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a handy printer which moves a printer main body on a recording sheet and records an image by means such as ink jet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a handy printer is manually moved on recording paper to perform recording, the handy printer itself is moved at a constant speed to control a recording position. In a self-propelled handy printer, a recording position is controlled using an optical sensor or a distance sensor separate from the printer body. There is also a handy printer in which a sensor is provided in a printer body to control a recording position.

[0003]

However, the conventional handy printer has the following problems. When performing recording by manually moving the handy printer, it is necessary for the user to be skilled in order to accurately determine the recording position. Another problem is that it is difficult to adjust the recording position.

Further, when a sensor separate from the printer body is used, a dedicated sensor is required, and there is a problem that the apparatus becomes large and the cost increases.

Further, when a sensor is provided in the printer body, there is a problem that it is difficult to reduce the size of the sensor and the size of the printer is increased.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances,
An object of the present invention is to provide a handy printer having a simple configuration and a compact form, in which a sensor for controlling a recording position is built in a printer body.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, one aspect of the handy printer according to the present invention is a handy printer that moves a printer main body on a recording sheet and records an image by a recording unit. It is characterized in that a possible optical linear encoder is housed.

According to the above configuration, it is possible to provide a compact handy printer with a simple configuration in which a sensor for controlling the recording position is built in the printer body.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a handy printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 is a printer main body,
Numeral 2 denotes an optical linear encoder for controlling the recording position, numeral 3 denotes an operation button for operating the printer, numeral 4 denotes an LCD for displaying the status of the printer, and numeral 5 denotes a conveying roller which rotates on the recording paper P.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the handy printer according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 6 denotes a recording head which is recording means for recording an image by ejecting ink onto a recording paper P, 7 denotes a reel for winding the optical linear encoder 2, and 8 denotes reading for reading the optical linear encoder 2. It is a sensor. Reference numeral 9 denotes a tension spring that presses the transport roller 5 against the recording paper P with a constant tension, 10 denotes an auxiliary roller that assists the transport roller 5, and 11 denotes an electric board that controls the handy printer.

Next, the operation of the handy printer will be described.
Before starting the recording operation, the optical linear encoder 2 is pulled out from the reel 7 to a position on the recording paper P where recording is desired. Then, the printer body 1 is connected to the optical linear encoder 2.
Recording is performed while manually moving in the direction of arrow A in FIG. Alternatively, a transport motor for driving the transport roller 5 may be separately provided and configured to be self-propelled. The operation at that time is as follows. The reading sensor 8 digitally reads the signal of the optical linear encoder 2, feeds back the signal to the electric board 11, performs A / D conversion and recording position control, and records on the recording head 6. Send a signal. The optical linear encoder 2 is made of a material that can be repeatedly adhered to and peeled off from the recording paper P. Alternatively, an adhesive capable of repeating adhesion and peeling is applied to the contact surface with the recording paper P. Therefore, recording can be performed even on a surface that is not smooth but has irregularities. Further, as described above, since the transport roller 5 is pressed against the recording paper P by the tension spring 9, the distance between the recording paper P and the recording head 6 can be kept constant even if the recording surface has irregularities. High-definition images can be recorded.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing the structure of the reel 7 of the handy printer according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3, 20 is a winding core, and 21 is a spring. With the same principle as that of the automatic winding measure, the winding core 20 is rotated by the tension applied to the spring 21 to wind the optical linear encoder 2. As the printer main body 1 moves manually or by a drive motor, the optical linear encoder 2
Is automatically wound on the winding core 20.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the handy printer according to the embodiment of the present invention. The handy printer inputs recording data from the outside via the I / F 30 or the operation buttons 3 in the handy printer. The input recording data is stored in the microprocessor 3 on the electric board 11.
Sent to 1. In order to control the recording position of the recording head 6, data read by the optical linear encoder 2 by the reading sensor 8 is also sent to the microprocessor 31.
A ROM 32 stores various reference information such as a control table and setting value information. 33 is a RAM mainly used as a work area of the microprocessor 31
It is. Microprocessor 31, ROM32, RAM
33, various operations and commands are executed, and the handy printer is controlled. According to the control, via the head driver 34 and the transport motor driver 35,
The recording head 6 and the transport motor 36 are driven.

According to the configuration described above, a handy printer having a simple configuration and a compact form can be provided by incorporating a sensor for controlling the recording position in the printer body.

The structure in which the optical linear encoder of the present embodiment is wound by a reel may be applied to a stationary recording device or the like. The present invention can be applied to a recording apparatus or the like which reads an optical linear encoder with a sensor provided on a reciprocating carriage equipped with recording means and controls a recording position. That is, during a recording operation, the optical linear encoder is pulled out and used for controlling the recording position, and during a non-recording operation, the optical linear encoder is wound around a reel. Thereby, it is possible to prevent dust and dirt from adhering to the optical linear encoder.

<Others> It should be noted that the present invention includes a means (for example, an electrothermal converter or a laser beam) for generating thermal energy as energy used for performing ink ejection, particularly in an ink jet recording system. An excellent effect is obtained in a recording head and a recording apparatus of a type in which the state of ink is changed by the thermal energy. This is because according to such a method, it is possible to achieve higher density and higher definition of recording.

The typical configuration and principle are described in, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,740.
It is preferable to use the basic principle disclosed in the specification of Japanese Patent No. 796. This method is a so-called on-demand type,
Although it can be applied to any of the continuous type, particularly, in the case of the on-demand type, the electric heat disposed corresponding to the sheet or the liquid path holding the liquid (ink or processing liquid) is used. By applying to the transducer at least one drive signal corresponding to the recorded information and providing a rapid temperature rise exceeding the nucleate boiling, the electrothermal transducer generates heat energy and is applied to the heat acting surface of the recording head. This is effective because film boiling can be caused, and as a result, bubbles in the liquid (ink or processing liquid) corresponding to this drive signal one-to-one can be formed. A liquid (ink or processing liquid) is ejected through an ejection opening by the growth and contraction of the bubble to form at least one droplet. When the drive signal is formed into a pulse shape, the growth and shrinkage of the bubbles are immediately and appropriately performed, and therefore, the ejection of a liquid (ink or processing liquid) having particularly excellent responsiveness is more preferable. Examples of the drive signal in the form of a pulse include those described in U.S. Pat.
Suitable are those described in US Pat. No. 45,262. Further, if the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 relating to the temperature rise rate of the heat acting surface are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As the configuration of the recording head, in addition to the combination of a discharge port, a liquid path, and an electrothermal converter (a linear liquid flow path or a right-angled liquid flow path) as disclosed in the above-mentioned respective specifications, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,558,333 and 44,596 which disclose a configuration in which a heat acting portion is arranged in a bending region.
The configuration using the specification of No. 00 is also included in the present invention. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Sho 59-123670 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of an electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and an opening for absorbing a pressure liquid of thermal energy is provided. The effect of the present invention is effective even if the configuration is based on JP-A-59-138461, which discloses a configuration corresponding to a discharge unit. That is, according to the present invention, recording can be reliably and efficiently performed regardless of the form of the recording head.

Further, the present invention can be effectively applied to a full-line type recording head having a length corresponding to the maximum width of a recording medium on which a recording apparatus can record. Such a recording head may have a configuration that satisfies the length by a combination of a plurality of recording heads, or a configuration as one integrally formed recording head.

In addition, even in the case of the serial type as described above, a recording head fixed to the apparatus main body, or an electric connection with the apparatus main body or ink from the apparatus main body by being attached to the apparatus main body. The present invention is also effective when a replaceable chip-type recording head that can be supplied or a cartridge-type recording head in which an ink tank is provided integrally with the recording head itself is used.

It is preferable to add a recording head ejection recovery unit, a preliminary auxiliary unit, and the like as the configuration of the recording apparatus of the present invention because the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. To be specific, these are pre-heating by using a capping unit, a cleaning unit, a pressurizing or suctioning unit, an electrothermal transducer or another heating element or a combination thereof for the recording head. Means and preliminary ejection means for performing ejection other than recording.

The type and number of recording heads to be mounted are not limited to those provided only for one color ink, for example, and for a plurality of inks having different recording colors and densities. A plurality may be provided. That is, for example, the printing mode of the printing apparatus is not limited to a printing mode of only a mainstream color such as black, but may be any of integrally forming a printing head or a combination of a plurality of printing heads. The present invention is also very effective for an apparatus provided with at least one of the full-color recording modes using mixed colors.

In addition, in the embodiment of the present invention described above, the ink is described as a liquid.
An ink that solidifies at room temperature or below and softens or liquefies at room temperature may be used, or the ink jet method controls the viscosity of the ink by adjusting the temperature of the ink itself within the range of 30 ° C to 70 ° C. Is generally controlled so as to be within the stable ejection range, so that the ink may be in a liquid state when the use recording signal is applied. In addition, in order to positively prevent temperature rise due to thermal energy by using it as energy for changing the state of the ink from a solid state to a liquid state, or to prevent evaporation of the ink, the ink is solidified in a standing state and heated. May be used. In any case, the application of heat energy causes the ink to be liquefied by the application of the heat energy according to the recording signal and the liquid ink to be ejected, or to start to solidify when reaching the recording medium. The present invention is also applicable to a case where an ink having a property of liquefying for the first time is used. In such a case, the ink is disclosed in JP-A-54-56847 or JP-A-60
As described in JP-A-71260, a configuration may be adopted in which a liquid or solid substance is held in a concave portion or through hole of a porous sheet and opposed to an electrothermal converter. In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

In addition to the above, the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention may be used not only as an image output terminal of an information processing apparatus such as a computer, but also as a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like, or as a facsimile apparatus having a transmission / reception function. It may take a form.

[0026]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, there is provided a handy printer which moves a printer main body on a recording paper and records an image by a recording means. Since the printer is housed in the printer main body, a sensor for controlling a recording position is built in the printer main body, and a handy printer having a simple configuration and a compact form can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a handy printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the handy printer according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure of a reel of the handy printer according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the handy printer according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer main body 2 Optical linear encoder 3 Operation button 4 LCD 5 Transport roller 6 Recording head 7 Reel 8 Reading sensor 9 Tension spring 10 Auxiliary roller 11 Electric board 20 Take-up core 21 Spring 30 I / F 31 Microprocessor 32 ROM 33 RAM 34 Head Driver 35 Transport Motor Driver 36 Transport Motor

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A handy printer for moving a printer body on a recording paper and recording an image by a recording means, wherein the handy printer comprises a retractable optical linear encoder. 2. The handy printer according to claim 1, wherein the optical linear encoder is capable of repeating bonding and peeling of the recording paper. 3. The handy printer according to claim 1, wherein recording is performed while winding the optical linear encoder. 4. The handy printer according to claim 3, wherein the optical linear encoder is housed during a non-recording operation. 5. The handy printer according to claim 1, wherein the recording unit includes an ink jet recording head that records an image by discharging ink. 6. The handy printer according to claim 5, wherein the ink jet recording head records the image using ink droplets formed by thermal energy.